The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the new case was reported in a farmworker who worked closely with cows that tested positive for bird flu. That worker was employed at a different farm than the worker in the case announced on May 22.
Officials say the risk to the general public is still low, and the farmworker who tested positive was given antivirals and is currently recovering from respiratory symptoms, including a cough and eye discomfort with a watery discharge. The worker did not have a fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Household contacts with the infected farmworker haven’t developed any symptoms, and no other workers at the same farm have reported bird flu symptoms.
“Michigan has led a swift public health response, and we have been tracking this situation closely since influenza A (H5N1) was detected in poultry and dairy herds in Michigan,” chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said. “Farmworkers who have been exposed to impacted animals have been asked to report even mild symptoms, and testing for the virus has been made available. With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye. With this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow.”
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